MOHALI: Even as the burning of wheat stubble hasn’t stopped in the district and the evidence is in the heaviness of the air, the district administration takes comfort in the fact that there have been no complaints.
Residents say the administration has failed. The figures say there have been no cases registered in 2018 for the stubble burning, whereas 167 were registered in 2017. During a reality check, the TOI detected fresh cases of stubble burning at Mubarakpur, Gazipur, and Nagla villages of the
Zirakpur jurisdiction. Confronted on the issue, additional deputy commissioner
Charandev Singh Mann said: “This year, we have received no complaints of farmers’ setting crop residue on fire.”
The two cases detected earlier were claimed to be of damage to the fields because of electric sparks, for which the process of paying compensation is pending. Last year, 167 cases were registered, although it cannot be electric sparks every time the stubble is on fire. “If there are some fresh cases of stubble burning, we will visit the areas and have these examined,” Mann said. Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chairman
Kahan Singh Pannu said: “The problem wouldbecontainedto “a large extent” this year by making farmers aware and punishing the violators.”
The
National Green Tribunal (NGT) order issued in December 2015 says farmers with less than 2 acres of land must pay Rs 2,500, medium land owners (owing 2 to 5 acres) must pay Rs 5,000; and those owning more than 5 acres must pay Rs 15,000 every time they set their fields on fire to preparethesefor the nextcrop. Still, the activity has gone unnoticed in the Zirakpur and Derabassi area this year, while are forced to inhale the smoke carried into the air from the farms. Reena Gupta of a housing society near Gazipur said: “The air in our area is thick with toxic fumes from the burning farms. Tall claims of the district administration of curbing the menace have fallen flat. Every morning, we see more fields around are apartments on fire.”
Representative image